I first heard of the name Mineski through a series of Dota international esports tournaments. It’s an esports team focusing on playing the online game Dota. The name Mineski is considered a household name here in the Philippines, and probably internationally.

I was excited when Mineski Infinity setup shop in Iligan. They opened late last year. But I only got inside just this year. I like the  interiors of the internet Cafe. The air-conditioning is cool, conducive to playing or even simply surfing the net. The internet speed is the fastest I’ve personally experienced in an internet cafe. The staff is accommodating and attentive to the customers.

No Refund Policy is not nice

But an incident I cannot forget happened last June 23 at the Mineski Infinity-Iligan branch. Their “no-refund policy” got me annoyed to say the least. This was my third visit in this wonderful internet cafe.

I logged in at 4:00 in the afternoon, and I prepaid P30.00, good for two hours of computer use. Then in about 20 to 30 minutes later, a sudden power interruption, two hours earlier than reported. Everyone in the room was obviously surprised. The city electric company announced the brownout to be at 6:00 PM.

There was a bit of a commotion shortly after the power outage. Most remained to their seats, while a few stood up and left the net cafe. I decided to just eat the food I bought, and also wait for the power to turn back on. While I was observing the movements of the people, I noticed nobody walked towards the counter to claim the refund.

After I finished eating, I asked the guy behind the counter if they offer refund.  He was kind enough to refuse, and told me to read the sign on the side of the counter. I said to him, this is a “bad business practice”. He was just quiet, perhaps pretending to not heard me.

My unused P20.00 pesos of internet or gaming time is no longer mine. It maybe not much, but what if I prepaid 100 pesos, and I only consumed P10.00? So, goodbye to my P90.00!

Think of others who prepaid, especially the students.

The policy contradicts their company core values

According to Mineski Infinity, one of their core values is Malasakit, and under it, expounding further, We embody the Filipino value of “malasakit”, through out compassion for gamers of many walks of life who visit our cafes.

Surely, no compassion in their no-refund business practice. Not giving back the remaining money that are not theirs is simply greed, in my opinion.

Any business, internet cafe or not, that does not offer a refund for an unused service puts the customers at a losing end.